Friction Control Workshop Offered This Fall; Future Events Noted

ASTM Committee G02 on Wear and Erosion is sponsoring the workshop “Friction Test Methods for Research and Applications,” Nov. 15, at the Omni-Rosen Hotel in Orlando, Fla., during ASTM Committee Week activities, Nov. 12-17. Visitors are invited to Committee G02 meetings to discover how wear testing and terminology standards are developed and approved. The workshop will address all issues related to friction measurement in materials research and engineering. Friction methods for metals, polymers, ceramics, coatings, and other engineering materials are within the workshop scope.

Abstracts of 200-300 words are due July 15. Submitters will be notified of acceptance by July 31. Contributors can opt to give an oral presentation, or, in addition, submit a manuscript for publication in a special issue of Tribology International. Authors wishing to submit full papers should indicate this on their abstracts. Full papers are due Nov. 14.

Friction control is vital in a wide range of machinery and industrial processes, as in power transmission and braking systems. Frictional losses rob equipment of energy efficiency and disrupt smooth operation, even to the point of seizure. From the friction of human hair, skin, and teeth to the friction of high-speed ceramic bearings and brake materials, friction has an impact on safety, energy efficiency, and mechanical design. Frictional phenomena range in scale from the earth’s tectonic plates to the sub-micrometer dimensions of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and individual asperities; therefore, a wide range of testing methods and analyses is needed. Conducting friction tests involves careful attention to surface preparation and to the selection of testing variables, as friction is both materials-and-system dependent. The repeatability and significance of friction coefficient measurement is an important related issue.

Since 1964, ASTM Committee G02 has led development of voluntary wear, erosion, and friction testing standards. Six standards-writing subcommittees meet twice per year to discuss abrasion, erosion, terminology, computerization, friction, and non-abrasive wear (sliding wear). For further Committee G02 information, consult the ASTM Web site (www.astm.org).

Abstracts can be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to workshop chairman Dr. Peter Blau, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P. O. Box 2008 (Mail Stop 6063), Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6063. (865/ 574/5377; fax: 865/574-6918). Guest accommodations for the November workshop will be provided by Omni-Rosen Hotel, 9840 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819 (407/996-9840).

Committee G02 meets May 8-11, 2000 in conjunction with the STLE tribology society conference, and in APRIL_2000 2001 with the International Conference on Wear of Materials (WOM 2001) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. For meeting or membership details, contact manager Tim Brooke, ASTM (610/832-9729). //